Threat To World Security

By  Farooq Ganderbali

The terrorist attack of Lahore police academy has opened a new and dangerous chapter in the history of terrorism in Pakistan. The lightly armed terrorist groups are able to attack highly guarded targets with much ease. After attacking the Sri Lankan Cricket team, this is the second attack on highly protected asset. Such is their training and incapability of Pakistani security agencies that most of these terrorists are able to escape unhurt as happened with cricket attack.

With terrorist acts becoming more dare devil in Pakistan, it is matter of time before they will strike a nuclear installation in this only nuclear armed Muslim state. It is not only the problem for Pakistan but for the entire world as to how they will deal with terrorists after they succeed in getting hold of a nuclear weapon in Pakistan. World should take a pro active measure to stop that nightmare. One wonders that if it was so easy for a group of 10 to 12 terrorists wearing police uniforms and wielding assault rifles to raid and occupy for seven hours a heavily-guarded establishment like the Police Academy in the Lahore area, then why a nuclear plant cannot be their next target.

The level of training of these terrorists has gradually moved to a higher level and they don’t have crunch of resources. Al Qaeda must be the happiest of all in this emerging scenario. After all they have had long ambition of getting hold of a nuclear weapon and even succeeded in roping in some top Pakistani scientists and army generals for their cause.

Pak Army Chief Gen Kayani with Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman, US Joint Chiefs of Staff

In late 2001, US officials investigating the activities of Osama bin Laden discovered that the al-Qaeda head had contacted some Pakistani nuclear experts for assistance in making a small nuclear device. US officials sought two veteran Pakistani nuclear scientists in particular, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Abdul Majid, for interrogation. The two admitted working in Afghanistan in recent years, but said they had only been providing “charitable assistance” to Afghans.

This was just a tip of the iceberg and many more scientists and other lower level technical persons too were involved. Mahmood was a top level scientist. He was one of Pakistan’s foremost experts in the secret effort to produce plutonium for atomic weapons. In 1999 he publicly said that Pakistan should help other Islamic nations build nuclear weapons. He also made some public statements in support of the Taliban movement. After more interrogation, both Mahmood and Majid admitted that they had met with bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri during their visits to Afghanistan and held long “theoretical” discussions on nuclear weapons.

Then the trail went cold. After months in Pakistani custody, both Mahmood and Majid were quietly released. Fearing that Mahmood’s charity organization, Ummah Tameer e-Nau, could be a front for al-Qaeda, the US government placed the entity in its terrorist list and designated Mahmood himself “a global terrorist”. Pakistan’s government never put the two scientists on trial, and they are free men today.

Now with terrorists running free in major cities of Pakistan, the concern arises from the possibility of a group of terrorists to raid and occupy a Pakistani nuclear establishment. The terrorists have repeatedly seen in Kabul and Lahore how easy it is to surprise and overwhelm at least temporarily the security personnel guarding the buildings targeted by them. More such incidents involving a similar strategy are to be apprehended.

At government level Pakistan too has never remained true believer of nuclear non proliferation. It is reported to have shared its nuclear technology with North Korea, and possibly with Myanmar and Saudi Arabia for number of benefits.
A nation that is penetrated by Islamic radicals and that possesses dozens of nuclear weapons and proliferates them to other dictatorial countries poses a tangible and immediate problem. Till date U.S. policy towards Pakistan does not reflect that reality. In the absence of pressure from the United States, Pakistan has not found it necessary to take serious action against Islamic extremists, who are salivating at the possibility of getting rewarded with nuclear bombs.

Recently a Taliban leader warned that Washington will be over next target and the attack would be much bigger. One wonder are Talibans talking about mounting a nuclear attack. Are they planning to get it by attacking Pakistan’s nuclear installations or have they manufactured a dirty bomb with the help of heavily indoctrinated Pakistani scientists. In both cases the situation is going from bad to worse and it needs to be checked before it gets out of hand. This year is going to be a period of high tension for the world in general and Pakistan in particular, with multiple threats of terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda and its affiliates on Pakistan’s very soul of existence. As horrific as the September 11 attacks on the US were, many terrorism experts have been warning that the next terrorist attacks could be much worse. It appears that US policymakers are unresponsive to a more alarming threat from Pakistan.